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Why You Need a Legal Social Media Policy
McGrath, L. (2015). Why You Need a Legal Social Media Policy. Computer & Internet Lawyer, 32(4), 7-10. Part 1. The risks associated with not having polices for advertising in social media is summarized citing cases. Organizations should have social media policies that adhere to FTC guidelines and employees need to be trained on the policies. The first case cited was the tweeting by Deutsche LA, and advertising agencies employees about the Sony PlayStation Vita. FTC guidelines require those employees to disclose in their social media that they were being paid to tweet endorsements and there should have been a reasonable monitoring program to ensure the disclosures were made. The second case cited when Nordstrom Rack gave influencers on Twitter $50 gift cards in exchange for positive tweets about the store. FTC guidelines require the disclosure in their social media that they were being given cash or in-kind payments to tweet endorsements and there should have been a reasonable monitoring program to ensure the disclosures were made. The third case is Cole Haan’s Wandering Sole Pinterest Contest where people were encouraged to create Pinterest boards and the hashtag “#WanderingSole” of the company’s shoes in order to enter to win a $1,000 shopping spree. The FTC finding was the contestants pins were and endorsement of the company’s products and the incentive of $1,000 should have been disclosed. Part 2. Social media account ownership the employee or the employer. The Black Entertainment Channels Facebook case was cited for the channel wanting to transfer ownership from the freelancer to the station and the freelancer refused. New York Times assistant managing editor took his 77,000 followers with him when he took a buyout to leave the paper. The solution is to draft agreements and policies that outline the ownership of the social media account, confidentiality and trade secrets, and what should be done with passwords. Part 3. Social media firings and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) section 7 violations. Organization’s social media policy must reflect a host of complex legal requirements. Having an attorney constantly review and update polices is necessary to stay incompliance. A listing of what private and nonprofit employers cannot do according to the NLRB: Require employees to avoid harming the integrity of image and integrity of the company; • Require employees to make sure that their social media posts are completely accurate and not misleading; • Require employees to think carefully about “friending” co-workers; • Require employees to report any unusual or inappropriate internal social media activity; • Prohibit employees from releasing confidential guest, team member, or company information; • Prohibit offensive, demeaning, abusive, or inappropriate remarks; Prohibit disparaging or defamatory comments; • Prohibit employees from sharing confidential information with another team member unless they have a need to know the information to do their job; • Prohibit objectionable or inflammatory social media posts; • Prohibit employees from having conversations regarding confidential information in the break room or in any other open area; • Prohibit employees from discussing confidential information at home or in public areas; • Prohibit employees from commenting on legal matters; • Prohibit employees from revealing non-public company information on any public site; • Prohibit employees from posting photos, music, and video, including those containing the employer’s logos or trademarks; • Prohibit employees from posting to social media sites without receiving prior authorization from the employer first; • Prohibit employees from sharing material non- public information or confidential or proprietary information; and • Prohibit employees from “liking” a post on Facebook. Social Media Policy Survey Finding Category:Social Media Policy